Va Honey Bee Nuc’s for Sale

In 2014, I will have starter hives (Nucs) for sale for beekeepers in the central Virginia (I am just to the east of Richmond, Va) areas. Typically, demand is high so it is important to get on the list early – click here to submit a Nuc request. There is never enough supply to meet all of the demand.

What do you get?

I provide a healthy Nuc that is headed by a young, first year queen from one of my proven lines. You are absolutely going to get 2 to 3 frames of brood (all produced by the young queen) and at least a frame or two of resources. The Nuc you will get from me is going to be too big to live in a Nuc much longer. They need more room, which is when I call the folks on my list to come pick up their bees and put them in a full super.

The queen will be one of my mutts. I have a wide mixture of genetics and letÂ my queens mate in the wild. I don’t care much whether I have Russions or Italians. I only care that I have strong bees that do well in our area and in today’s adverse environmental conditions. I weed out the weak ones.

What do you need to bring when you pick up your bees?

Typically, you are going to need a 10-frame, deep super. I will swap the frames (usually 5) from my Nuc with the frames of foundation in your hive. If you do not bring 10 frames of wax foundation, I add $10 to the cost of the Nuc (and do not take any of your frames.)

What is the cost?

Prices will be posted around November of 2013. I do not require a down payment, as I always have orders for nearly twice the number that I can sell.

How do I get on the list?

I usually open up my Nuc list around November of the year before. When this happens, there is an order form on the site for you to fill out. Once I have orders for what I believe that I can conservatively fill, I open up the waiting list. Folks on the waiting list are contacted if I have a really good Nuc year or if some folks on the main list decide to drop out when Spring arrives.

What Happens Next?

Once March rolls around, I will start contacting folks on the Nuc list. You are most likely to hear from me in April, when the Nuc production goes into full swing, but a few will receive an email in March. When I contact you, you may have as many as four weeks from my call to when your Nuc will be ready for pick up, when I will contact you one last time.

I sometimes add a bit of Honey Bee Healthy to the mix as well, although I have no empirical evidence that this helps or hurts any.

I really do not want to feed my bees sugar water – I much prefer for them to have honey, made from real nectar, as I do believe that it contains minerals and other ingredients that are far better for the bees then honey made from sugar syrup. Winter is hard on the bees. I want them to have the best honey available during that time. But, sometimes it is not practical.

I might have a few Nucs for sale this year, but I will only know by mid to late May.

I ended up with more Increase Nucs then I had planned on for this year (by about double) and I ended up catching a bunch of swarms. So, it really depends on how the Nucs that I created fare (if all do well, I will have 6+ Nucs for sale).

Quick question: Beekeeper offering to install a 5 frame deep nuc in my brand new hive this week. I have no other bees and this will be my first try at beekeeping. Do you think these bees can survive the winter.? Should I wait until spring ?Thanks so much.

It depends on where you are. If you are in my area (Central Virginia), then the answer is definitely wait until next Spring. This is a horrible time for a new beekeeper to start a new hive from a Nuc. It will take an experienced beekeeper to get them through the Winter and, even then, I believe they have a high risk of perishing.

Better to get your bees in April or May next year. It will save you a lot of heart ache.

I’m sure I’m way to late for one of your nucs, but can you suggest one or two reliable sources in VA I might contact? (My club, Tidewater Beekeepers, recommends against ordering from out of state.) Thanks – M. G. Williams Norfolk, VA

I’m taking the beginner beekeeping class with the PBA this year in Lynchburg. Please let me know if you have any nucs available. I understand that I’m late in the process. I am set to take either medium or deep if you have either. Thanks!

Your best bet is to sign up on my waiting list. I really have no visibility on how many orders I will fill until I’m within a few weeks of delivering a Nuc. I’ll email folks on my waiting list, at that time, to give them a heads up.